Crazin in Love
by Nadienne
Summary: Because doesn't every popular Beyonce single have a secret Office subtext? Just a few vignettes to answer such a meaningful question. Previously posted at MTT.


Author's note: So, this is my first story ever, so I would _adore_ some reviews. Secondly, no, I'm not some crazy Beyonce fanatic. Just go with me here.

If I were a boy

She wanted him to _get it_. That she won't just sit around and wait for him to realize she's unhappy. Because she will leave.

Right?

Girls shouldn't stay with a fiancé that barely knows her. Who certainly doesn't _get_ her.

They should leave. Strong women, like Barbara Walters or Beyonce wouldn't stay. They wouldn't just take it. But Pam isn't Beyonce.

She's Pam Beasley, and Pam Beasley is scared.

Scared of being on her own, of making a bad decision, of really admitting out loud that she does have options. There are _others _out there that she could be better with.

Others who would be _perfect_ for her.

The worst part of the whole situation is that Roy thinks she's happy. He truly believes that she is content to just sit in their two-bedroom apartment (that she hates), watching him relive high school over and over again, meanwhile her own life floats right past her, as if it were on a breeze.

She wanted Roy to realize how they could be. If she was him, she would never abandon her at a hockey game. Or at the concession stand at the movie theatre (which Jim doesn't need to know about).

If she were him, she would let the phones go to voicemail, and forfeit a night at Poor Richard's, just so she could spend time with him. So that she would know what she meant to him .

Beyonce and Barbara and Angelina Jolie and Hillary Clinton and every other powerful woman out there would do that too.

But Roy Anderson is no Jay-Z.

Irreplaceable

She met him a few weeks after "The Bad Day".

That's what she calls it. It's easier to say that then, "The Day That The Boyfriend I Would Have Moved With Left Me For A Receptionist."

She was at O'Malleys with a girlfriend, trying desperately to forget about fountains and cardigans and coal walks, when she saw a really tall guy with brown hair and rolled up sleeves across the bar.

_Jim._

But then he turned, and she quickly realized her mistake. Not Jim, never Jim.

He was laughing at something his friend said, his eyes twinkling mischievously in the low lights of the pub. He was drinking her favourite type of beer, and seemed so comfortable, so completely at ease in his surroundings.

She had been starting to think (whenever she had some red wine in her) that there is no other guy like Jim. That she's just the footnote in someone else's love story, and she should be ok with that.

Not anymore.

An hour and two drinks later she walked up to him. She's Karen Filipelli, and she's not afraid to go after what she wants.

They talked and talked about movies and politics and being dumped and just how much it sucks. She was worried that it would make her seem desperate, as if she was just wallowing in self pity, too much hung up on some other guy.

However, he never once showed signs of pity or abandon. He listened to her, made eye contact, brushed her hands with his own.

He never once looked away at another girl.

They went for coffee afterwards, and dinner the next day. Quickly they began to see each other daily, and she felt _so good_ about that. Solid, indestructible, confident Karen was back.

He isn't like Jim, really. Sure, he's tall and has brown hair, and rolls up his sleeves (which she forced him to stop doing). He's funny in a different way. Less one liners and funny faces. He's all about the knock knock jokes and the long drawn out stories with the hilarious ending. She used to think that would be annoying, but with Dan, it's cute.

He's a bit more sophisticated, a bit more educated, and maybe just a bit taller. Much more New York.

In a matter of weeks she'd found a new guy.

Irreplaceable her ass.

Single Ladies

He heard the song as he was walking through the supermarket one night after work. Dear God, it was everywhere.

It hadn't been the best day.

A shipment hadn't come in, and then he had to work late unpacking the truck. It was definitely harder than sitting at a desk, making phone calls or anything. Hard work. _Man's work._

Of course he runs into Toby, who he always kind thought had a thing for Pam. Funny how the one you don't expect, turns around and kicks you in the balls, right?

Toby looked just as tired, but then again Toby always looks tired. He was nursing what was surely not his first beer. He waved at him, clearly eager for any sort of company. Even the kind that yells at the girl you have an obvious crush on.

They made small talk for a while. Sasha, Roy's new job at the warehouse for Wal-Mart, even the weather, dominated the conversation. Finally out of nowhere, Toby started talking about Jim and Pam. He didn't seem to like Jim at all, which was more than fine for Roy.

Then he said it.

"They're getting married."

He wanted to go kill Jim Halpert. Again. Not literally, but maybe just a few punches to even the score.

Toby was clearly angry, which only made Roy angry. He was just a bystander. He never really had her. He didn't know just how amazing she was, and how stupid it was to let her go like he did.

All of a sudden, the newest Beyonce single came on the television. Toby, bleary-eyed and clearly wasted, looked over at him with an intense focus.

"If you like it, then you should've put a ring on it," he slurred.

Roy almost fell out of his chair laughing. Because really, it's hilarious. The love of his life is getting married to another guy, and he's sitting in a bar on a Wednesday night quoting Beyonce.

"I did put a ring on it," he replied once he'd calmed down.

"...Should've put a bigger ring on it."

Halo

She looked like a dream. Like everything good and full of love in this world had manifested into some weird nucleus and decided to make her. Or maybe she was just a regular, perfect girl.

She walked up to him, shy and nervous, with a blush on her cheeks. He should have brought flowers. Or candy, or maybe a ring. That wouldn't freak her out, right?

They made their way to Cuigino's, him trying not to get too distracted by the setting sunlight in her soft hair. A car crash on their first date might not be the most romantic.

They chatted, getting back into the rhythm that had never really left them. She reached over and held his hand across the table, and he thought he might die and go to heaven right then. They skimmed over some of the bigger things – Karen, Roy, art shows, coal walks. She said she only needed to know whether or not he was single. He replied that he was, carefully leaving out the "not for long" that was blasting through his mind.

Once the pasta and the desert had been eaten, the wine drank, they went for a walk. Both knew that while the night so far had been perfect, it just wasn't over yet. They went to the river, he gave her his jacket when he noticed the goose bumps across her shoulders.

He's allowed to do that now.

They slowly made their way back to his car. He held her door, and the look she gave him (shock, happiness,_ love_) was worth anything he had ever been through.

When they got to her house, he walked her to her door. He didn't expect anything, certainly didn't want to pressure her, but he might have hoped to kiss the living daylights out of her.

She opened her door, and turned around.

"This has been so... wonderful," she said, smiling shyly.

"I know," he replied, trying unsuccessfully to mask the sheer adoration in his eyes.

With her face just in front of the light of her hallway, she appeared to be giving off light. Her honey brown curls were framed in a halo that only accentuated her pretty face.

So he kissed her.


End file.
